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John Travolta on Oscar flub: ‘Let it go!’

WHO THE HECK IS ADELE NAZEEM?: John Travolta butchered the Tony Award winner's name in his introduction. Photo: Associated Press

John Travolta has broken his silence after becoming the butt of jokes following his misreading of singer Idina Menzel’s name at the Oscars on Sunday night.

The “Grease” star took the stage at the Dolby Theatre to introduce the Broadway favorite’s Let It Go performance from Frozen, which went on to win the Best Song award, but he got tangled up over Menzel’s name and called her “the wickedly talented, one and only Adele Nazeem”.

His flub became one of the most talked-about moments at the Academy Awards, and now Travolta has spoken of his error.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaOg6tH3z0Y

In a statement issued through his publicist on Tuesday, the movie star says, “I’ve been beating myself up all day. Then I thought… what would Idina Menzel say, She’d say, ‘Let it go, let it go!’ Idina is incredibly talented and I am so happy ‘Frozen’ took home two Oscars Sunday night!”

Menzel has yet to comment on Travolta’s Oscars mistake but a source tells E! News that the Tony winner “thought it was funny”, and even gave the actor a hug after her performance.

The marketing team behind Menzel’s new Broadway show have capitalized on Travolta’s botched pronunciation of her name at the Oscars in a new social media campaign.

New ads posted on the show’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, which have the tagline: “You Know Her Name”, along with a photo of Menzel belting out the Oscar-winning tune during the ceremony.